Red - They will kill you. Brown - People will be offended and betray one another. Orange - You will be hated. Grey/Blue - because of iniquity, the love of people will grow cold. Purple - False prophets will deceive many Blue - He who endures will be saved. Light Blue - God will tell us what to say when the time comes. Green - The Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world, then the end will come. Blue/Green - They will deliver you up to be afflicted.

God's people will experience the worst trouble in the history of the earth at the end of time. So the book that is sweet to the taste but bitter in the stomach, is actually what the righteous will experience. The news of Christ's soon coming will be unbelievably dear to the hearts of the righteous, yet the experience will be so drastic. It is no wonder that they will need an experience with God that they normally would not have. It is no wonder that they must get ready and know God!

In spite of the trouble, we see that God helps God's people in this time. For one thing we are not to worry what we are to say when we are before the judge or even kings. In addition, we see that God helps the woman by making sure the dragon cannot fully do what he would want to do, to the woman. The woman is God's church of people.

Some think that the righteous will be raptured away in a secret rapture. However if you read Scripture, such as Luke 17:34-37.

You will see that while it is true that the righteous is taken away, but the wicked is destroyed. They are killed by the brightness of His coming. What is being described is the actual second coming of Jesus when the righteous are take up to be with the Lord but the wicked are destroyed. There is no secret rapture here. The term is unknown in the Bible, and so is the doctrine.

Nowhere is there any hint in the Bible that the righteous are saved from their time of trouble. Instead, we see story after story in the Bible, that the righteous are saved while they were being persecuted. They were saved while they were in persecution: Daniel in the lion's den; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace; The Exodus from Egypt.

All through Daniel and Revelation we see the evidence that God's people are suffering and experiencing the trouble of the end of time. See what happens when the fifth seal is opened:

9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.

10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?

11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. Revelation 6:9-11.

The Woman Clothed
With The Sun
Revelation 12:1-17

Point 1

Chapter 12 concerns itself with the woman and how the Dragon persecutes her as well as her offspring; However, John does not seem to cover the conflict in an orderly sequence. Instead, John seems to go over the scenario twice.

In the first six verses, John takes time to describe the woman, the red dragon, and also the circumstances concerning the birth of the male child. Then he mentions that the woman flees into the wilderness for 1260 days.

John then starts over and discusses how Satan comes down to earth and why he is angry at the woman. John then goes into quite some detail of the battles during the 42 months (also 1260 days, the same period of time).

This second time, John says that the woman was able to fly into the wilderness where she is protected from the serpent for 42 months.

Point 2

It is easy to see that Satan doesn't wait until some group tells him he is worthy. He is definitely not worthy for anything except death. In chapter 12 we see that Satan runs on fear, anger, and hate. He only seeks death and destruction for others.